+
upworthy
Most Shared

4 simple but awesome ways a mom uses old crayons to improve the world.

The Crayon Collection shows the world how valuable used crayons can be to the lives of children.

While most parents notice how picky their 2-year-olds are when it comes to restaurant food, one mom noticed how picky her toddler was with something else.

Whenever Sheila Morovati took her daughter to eat at restaurants, she discovered an odd trend. Like most 2-year-olds, her little one would hardly use the crayons given to her before moving onto something else.

"After one or two lines drawn, the crayons would fall to the floor or get pushed to the other side of the table," Sheila told me. "The other parents with young kids experienced the same thing."


If you visit any kid-friendly restaurants, crayons on the floor will be a common sight.

But that's only part of the story. These virtually unused crayons would be placed in the trash, never to be seen again. Sheila wasn't feeling that at all. 

"Crayons are valuable," Sheila said. "I know that many students and teachers would yearn for them."

On top of that, teachers have to shell out what little money they have to buy school supplies, and wasted crayons are just another unnecessary item taking up space in landfills. 

That's all of the inspiration Sheila needed to create the Crayon Collection

"Simply put, the Crayon Collection collects lightly used crayons and redistributes them to teachers and throughout the community," Sheila said.

But this is no smalltime endeavor. The organization is currently in five countries, along with hundreds of restaurants and schools worldwide.

One of the thousands of gift boxes the Crayon Collection donates to schools every year. Photo from Sheila Morovati, used with permission.

That's wonderful and all, but you may be thinking, "Wait a minute ... this seems familiar. Isn't there already something like this out there?" 

Another organization called the Crayon Initiative does a whole lot of good by donating crayons to children in hospitals, but the Crayon Collection is a different animal altogether. 

Here are four things that make this organization so cool.

1. They get crayons in the hands of young kids at schools.

Sheila's organization partners with the National Head Start Association to provide crayons to 1 million of America's most vulnerable children.

"There are thousands of Head Start schools in our nation, and sadly many of the children don't have much more than the clothes on their backs," Sheila said. The Crayon Collection provides these children with crayons so they can use them at school or at home. 

This little boy was fascinated by twistable crayons, so Sheila showed him how they work. Photo from Sheila Morovati, used with permission.

2. They partner with big restaurant chains to ensure no crayon goes to waste.

Denny's restaurant is one of the biggest chains that the Crayon Collection partners with. Sheila's team gives Denny's employees information on how to properly handle the crayons so nearby schools can pick them up easily. 

"Denny's participation is truly inspiring and motivating," Sheila said. "We hope that the program will be adopted in other kid-friendly restaurants everywhere." 

3. They show kids that giving is better than receiving.

This is one of Sheila's favorite aspects of her program. For example, she has a group of children in California who visit some of the state's highest-poverty schools to donate crayons. 

"We teach kids in better-served communities a wonderful lesson in philanthropy, and they love it." 

A group of young kids in Santa Monica, California, collect and organize crayons to deliver to kids in need. Photo from Sheila Morovati, used with permission.

She isn't kidding. Studies have shown that children who give to others are generally happier.

Contrary to popular belief, kids actually enjoy giving to others. GIF from the Crayon Collection.

4. They created a crayon curriculum without any additional cost to the school districts.

Thanks to a suggestion from the National Endowment of the Arts, the Crayon Collection started a "crayon curriculum" for all recipient schools — and it doesn't cost the schools a dime. 

A crayon curriculum that doesn't cost schools anything? That's a win-win. Photo by Sheila Morovati, used with permission.

"Local artists have provided amazing ideas for projects so that the crayons can be used a tool for deeper learning," Sheila said.

For example, an artist named Annie Lapin created a project where kids circle a specific capital letter in a newspaper (S, for example, in the image below) and draw lines to connect each one. Afterward, the kids will color the image and create an animal. 

What a creative way for kids to use crayons!

Kids love crayons. The Crayon Collection ensures as many kids as possible can get some.

Sheila offered a few parting words on why this program means so much to her:

"We really feel that the scalability of our model is why we have been able to work with people from all over the world and create so much happiness and joy for kids who really need a little color in their lives."

And nothing is more colorful than the smiles of happy children. 

Color + kids = happiness. GIF from Crayon Connection, used with permission.

Be sure to check out the Crayon Collection's website to learn how you can be a part of the action!

Community

How to end hunger, according to the people who face it daily

Here’s what people facing food insecurity want you to know about solving the hunger problem in America

True

Even though America is the world’s wealthiest nation, about 1 in 6 of our neighbors turned to food banks and community programs in order to feed themselves and their families last year. Think about it: More than 9 million children faced hunger in 2021 (1 in 8 children).

In order to solve a problem, we must first understand it. Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, released its second annual Elevating Voices: Insights Report and turned to the experts—people experiencing hunger—to find out how this issue can be solved once and for all.

Here are the four most important things people facing hunger want you to know.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pets

Family brings home the wrong dog from daycare until their cats saved the day

A quick trip to the vet confirmed the cats' and family's suspicions.

Family accidentally brings wrong dog home but their cats knew

It's not a secret that nearly all golden retrievers are identical. Honestly, magic has to be involved for owners to know which one belongs to them when more than one golden retriever is around. Seriously, how do they all seem have the same face? It's like someone fell asleep on the copy machine when they were being created.

Outside of collars, harnesses and bandanas, immediately identifying the dog that belongs to you has to be a secret skill because at first glance, their personalities are also super similar. That's why it's not surprising when one family dropped off their sweet golden pooch at daycare and to be groomed, they didn't notice the daycare sent out the wrong dog.

See, not even their human parents can tell them apart because when the swapped dog got home, nothing seemed odd to the owners at first. She was freshly groomed so any small differences were quickly brushed off. But this accidental doppelgänger wasn't fooling her feline siblings.

Keep ReadingShow less
Family

15 best colostrum supplements

Invigorate your journey to optimal health with these wellness-enhancing colostrum supplements.

Editor's Note: Upworthy earns a percentage of revenue from items purchased on this list.


Embarking on a journey toward enhanced well-being is a rewarding endeavor, and when it comes to unlocking nature's potential, colostrum supplements stand as remarkable allies. Did you know that the global colostrum market is projected to experience a growth of over 3.5% in the coming years, a testament to the increasing recognition of its incredible benefits? Moreover, scientific interest in colostrum's immune-boosting properties has led to a surge in research publications, with a remarkable 37% rise observed in the last five years alone. As we delve into the realm of wellness-enhancing supplements, this article unveils an illuminating guide to the 15 best colostrum supplements, offering a chance to embrace vitality and invigorate the journey to optimal health.

15 best colostrum supplements

  1. Elm & Rye Colostrum Supplements
  2. Swanson Ultra High Immunoglobulin Colostrum Supplement
  3. California Gold Nutrition, Colostrum
  4. ARMRA Colostrum Immune Revival Unflavored
  5. Mt. Capra Goat Milk Colostrum
  6. PipingRock Ultra Colostrum Quick Release Capsules
  7. NOW Foods, Colostrum Powder
  8. Nature’s Sunshine Colostrum Capsules
  9. Ancestral Supplements Grass Fed Beef Colostrum Supplement
  10. WONDERCOW Colostrum Powder Supplement
  11. Symbiotics Colostrum Chewables
  12. Brain Basics Ultra-Pure Colostrum
  13. Surthrival: Colostrum Powder Capsules
  14. Double Wood Supplements Colostrum Supplement Capsules
  15. Pure Velvet Colostrum Powder
Keep ReadingShow less
Sandra Maria/Youtube, Official Lives & Music Videos/Youtube

You can't not sing this song.

The music of Queen has a profound visceral effect on everyone. Few pieces of art can cause complete strangers to put aside their differences and come together in song, but by golly, “Bohemian Rhapsody” is one of them. It would be cheesy if it weren’t so absolutely beautiful.

This pertains even to non-English-speaking countries, it appears. Recently, thousands of Harry Styles concertgoers in Warsaw, Poland, began cheering as those iconic beginning piano notes penetrated the air.
Keep ReadingShow less
Photo by Long Truong on Unsplash
woman in white sleeveless dress kissing man in blue dress shirt


"It may be the most important thing we do in life; learn how to love and be loved."

At least, that's according to Harvard psychologist and researcher Rick Weissbourd.

He's been collecting data on the sex and love habits of young people for years through surveys, interviews, and even informal conversation — with teens and the important people in their lives.

Through it all, one thing has been abundantly clear:

"We spend enormous amount of attention helping parents prepare their kids for work and school," Weissbourd says. "We do almost nothing to prepare them for the tender, tough, subtle, generous, focused work of developing mature healthy relationships. I'm troubled by that."

Keep ReadingShow less

Mom shares PSA on about being a sports mom while also working

Being a mom can be challenging enough, but when you add in working full time and kids activities, it feels like you need a few clones to help you out. Recently we signed our youngest up for soccer, he's 5-years-old and happens to be ten years younger than his closest sibling, so I've done the sports stuff.

At one point I was working full-time while my daughter took tap, ballet and jazz while also on a soccer team and my two older boys played soccer, baseball and football. We rarely saw the inside of our home unless it was to sleep, I'm not even sure I knew how my stove worked during those years. Now here we are starting all over again.

So when Mo, a mom running the TikTok page Rex & Mo posted a video ranting about how impossible it feels to add organized activities for kids into the mix, parents everywhere related, myself included.

Keep ReadingShow less
@mychal3ts/TikTok

This is "the power of the library"

Editor's Note: This story discusses suicide. If you are having thoughts about taking your own life, or know of anyone who is in need of help, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 200+ crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 9-8-8. It is available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.


Libraries aren’t just a place to score free books. For many, they provide safe refuge.

This secondary offering has lately been overshadowed by political controversy, as there has been a laser focus from conservatives on the types of literature libraries provide, especially titles that pertain to LGBTQ and racial topics.

But one librarian’s retelling of a life saving encounter reminds us of how essential these community spaces really are—and it has nothing to do with books at all.

Keep ReadingShow less